'I don't need to hide,' exclaimed Rove. 'I don't need to hide'

Nadler: If Rove won't testify, he's 'presumably' jail-bound

According to Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), should Karl Rove continue refusing to give testimony, the House of Representatives will "presumably" hold him in contempt, landing Rove in jail.

When House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) issued a Monday subpoena against former Bush Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove regarding his alleged involved in the political prosecution of an Alabama governor, and the firings of nine US Attorneys, he likely expected a fight.

And when Rove went on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News Factor Wednesday, the right-wing editorialist even jokingly expected a flight, and offered the embattled politico a "place to hide out."

"We have all kinds of tunnels and places we can put you ..." began O'Reilly.

"I don't need to hide," exclaimed Rove. "I don't need to hide."

But if Rep. Nadler is correct, and Rove doesn't appear before the Judiciary Committee, he'll likely need to pack.

Rove's Washington, D.C. lawyer, Robert Luskin, said in a Tuesday statement, "It's generally agreed that former presidents retain executive privilege as to matters occurring during their term. We'll solicit the views of the new White House counsel and, if there is a disagreement, assume that the matter will be resolved among the courts, the president and the former president."

Joining MSNBC's Keith Olbermann Thursday night, Rep. Nadler, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, shot down Rove's legal wrangling on the issue of executive privilege, and stated rather bluntly the process to follow.

"If he refuses to show up, we're going to have to vote a contempt citation," which would require the ballots of the House at large, he said. The Democratic-led Hosue would "presumably" carry the measure.

The contempt citation is then given to a US Attorney with the Department of Justice, said Nadler quoting the law, "whose duty it shall be to deliver it to the grand jury.

"In other words, he must enforce and prosecute the subpoena. Now, President Bush, as in so many other things, simply ignored the law and instructed the US Attorney not to obey the law, and not to enforce the subpoena. I imagine President Obama will not do the same."

The subpoena, approved by an earlier vote of the House, was issued pursuant to "authority granted in H.R. 5 (111th Congress), and calls for Mr. Rove to appear at deposition on Monday, February 2, 2009."

Specifically, it enjoins Rove "to testify regarding his role in the Bush Administration's politicization of the Department of Justice, including the US Attorney firings and the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman."

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